zerocam Reviews

Potentially a perfectly simple app completely and utterly ruined with a huge, bright button with absolutely superfluous, and even childish text on it.

#smh

My phone is on MUTE. absolutely unacceptable for you to bypass that and play some ridiculous startup sound

Wants a dollar a week for an app that should require minimal or no updates. Boo

Does nothing, wants money for that, very funny.

I think there’s some post processing. In the camera app it looks different, and once saved it’s different. In low light for eg. it’s saved with more white light.

I thought this would be a good replacement for the withdrawn Cortex Camera which used the RAW stream for skipping Apple’s excessive processing. But when zooming in >100% it is very clear that noise reduction has been applied when comparing with Halide’s Process Zero. Saturation also boosted. So definitely not ‘natural non-processed’. I regret buying the unlimited version.

— Why does the music turn off when zerocam is launched? The stock camera is better in this regard

— Incorrect lenses on iPhone 12 Pro Max

Really like the photos zerocam produces but absolutely dislike the oddly childish UI or lack there of. Forcing a user to exit zerocam to change lenses might is the equivalent of an app randomly crashing and having to be reopened. Annoying, extra steps, to get where you already were.

I like the simplicity, but it makes people of color really dark. I can use it for street/landscapes, but not great for portraits.

Love love love the raw images that come out of zerocam! Totally subjective feedback: Could you guys give a lil love or variations to the Lock Screen widget? The small pill with the text just doesn’t look nicely filled out as the other ones in my Home Screen lol

Also if I could use zero cam as my main camera button on the Lock Screen I would.

Great photo results. In my opinion though the photos are still too over sharpened. Also zerocam has a terrible lens selection button placement. Why not put it in all the blank place beside the shutter button instead of awkwardly way at the top?

Intriguing, but I could REALLY do without the cutesy little labels on the shutter button. Those get old very quickly.

i would love a lock screen widget so i can open it as quickly as the ios camera

first of all i don’t know what everyone else is talking about with the ui-i think it’s snappy :3 and charming!!! people don’t know how to be silly anymore.

anyways review is 5 stars as soon as you let me take selfies. let me reverse the cameras!!! cmonnnnnn let me do it!!! it can be from the home screen i dont mind!!!! (pretty please)

Freecam delivers exactly as promised. The photos show no trace of Apple’s processing pipeline, and the results closely mimic the output you’d get straight out of a DSLR. There’s no over-sharpening, no automatic masking or exposure adjustments on people’s faces or bodies, no automatic noise reduction and smoothing, and no overly generous autoexposure in the shadows. The images feel natural and dynamic, reflecting how your eyes see, which keeps me coming back for more.

I’m also a huge fan of this app’s minimalistic and playful UI. It’s incredibly simple, light-hearted, and encourages me to lean into the “point and shoot” mentality.

That said, to make this app a 5-star app, I have a few small feature requests:

(1) Flash control: The ability to turn the flash on and off would be a game-changer for darker scenes, like capturing moments around a dinner table with friends.

(2) Tap to focus: While the default autofocus works well most of the time, I’ve found that it occasionally misses the mark. Having the option to manually tap to focus would give me more confidence in my shots.

(3) Additional zoom options: Adding 1.2x and 1.5x zoom to mimic 28mm and 35mm lenses would be a great addition. Ideally, this would come with the option to set a default focal length, though I understand that keeping zerocam ’s charming simplicity intact might be a UI challenge.

I’ll continue using zerocam and am excited to see what the developer comes up with next!

Results are so much more natural than the native camera. Just one criticism - the viewfinder window has rounded corners so I can't control what's in the frame precisely. Wish there was an option for an accurate viewfinder.

zerocam is cool, it works great but, it def need a tap to focus functionality, and how do I access the settings??? Like, there's no button or anything that points me in the direction of accessing the settings of zerocam ?

Makes taking photos fun again without having to worry about editing them in post. However, I’d remove the “zap”, etc from the shutter as these do the opposite of being a minimalist app.

The idea behind zerocam is great! I love the approach to simplification and see apps like this one as definite wins. This one is absolutely on the right track and, in my opinion, almost perfect. Now, what does zerocam need to be perfect? There’s two simple things I would note:
1. With capture being done in RAW and then doing a posterior export of the image, 48MP HEIFs for the devices that support should be an option.

2. The text on the shutter button is a bit corny and should be an option you can toggle (or perhaps consider removing from app). Seeing “piu piu” or “push” on my shutter really throws me off.

With these two changes, zerocam would be a 5 star recommendation. I’ve talked about this idea with other photographer friends and zerocam pretty much nails it.

I’ve been using this since the beta and it’s only gotten better with every release. It’s my go to camera app and some of the best photos I’ve ever taken have been through this app. Excited to see where it goes next!

This is exactly what I want. It is a shame that HDR brainworms has infected the default camera app.

The one thing that could improve is launch time and shutter speed.

There are times when I hit the splash screen for a split second and it can be a little annoying.

Also sometimes I try and click photos quickly and the shutter lags a bit where I clicked 5 times and only get like 2 photos.

I am so tired of the noise. this app is an app that I hope leads a trend of healthy, useful, simplicity in a world of feature congestion and complication.

I am able to take photos — via an app that uses design to bring a more organic experience to photography. This is simplicity that inspires rather than detracts.

The aspect ratio of the frame, the rounded corners, and use of black space around the complimentary styling of the shutter button is very welcome and combines some of the same sensory balances that experience when looking through the viewfinder of a reflex camera.

Designing simple is hard. The folks at this app have done it.

***
I do have a few notes that I hope the creators will consider for future updates. I would like to be able to:
• Hold my thumb on the shutter to change lens
• Set photo resolution / file type (working with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, 12MP JPEGS will not do)

I find the life-updates purchase price worthwhile with the above adjustments. At that point, I feel like I picked up a money’s-worth diopter or other process-simplification tool.

FINALLY a way to quickly bypass the iPhone’s weird, new auto-processing that has been absolutely wrecking my portrait photography. The lighting looks so much more natural and flattering in the photos taken on zerocam. Like other reviewers, I’m not a fan of the constantly changing text on the shutter button. It’s a bit confusing.

For years, I've relied on Lightroom to edit every photo before sharing, but the process can be time-consuming, especially with a large number of photos or when shooting in RAW. This not only makes editing a chore but often causes my iPhone to overheat. While I enjoy the polished finish Lightroom offers, it’s not always practical for spontaneous shots. That's where this app comes in.

this app has become my go-to camera app for most situations, and here’s why: it’s incredibly simple to use and captures photos in RAW, just like I prefer. What sets this app apart is its ability to apply subtle, automatic processing that enhances the image without making it look over-edited. The processed images are then saved in a smaller file size, which helps conserve space on my iPhone and in iCloud. Unlike the native iPhone camera app, this app avoids heavy-handed processing, resulting in more natural-looking photos.

Although I still enjoy shooting RAW and editing in Lightroom for special projects, this app is now my camera of choice for 95% of my photos. It’s just so simple to use, and in a world full of complex tools, simplicity is something we can all appreciate.

Love zerocam itself and the opportunity to remove
HDR from the iPhone is something I was looking for.

I love the simplicity and fun of zerocam. It reminds me of the early iPhone’s camera app, just with some humorous text on the shutter button. The RAW-only processing will be interesting to see over time as I take pictures with this, but in the meantime I like the concept at least.

I love the extreme approach of not worrying about HDR, filters, grids, and other features. I especially appreciate the effort going into refining the colors and overall tone of the resulting images.

My only nits are the goofy shutter labels and having to exit zerocam and long pressing zerocam icon to change lens.

Good lightning is required, but when you have it, photos look great!